Finally, The End

By Spencer and Micah

THE END OF THE YEAR IS ALMOST HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The students are excited. The finals have arrived, which makes everyone nervous, but finals also mark the end of the year.

This being the last post of the year, we are ending with a note about students' and staff members' summer plans. The Heitmann brothers say they are going to Cape Cod, Florida and New Hampshire. Tim in eighth grade says he plans to go to Vermont over the summer. Other places that might be visited are Montana, North Carolina, Montauk, Virginia and West Virginia.

We personally are going to go to Maine and Cape Cod (Spencer) and Japan (Micah). Micah's mom spent a year living in Japan and the whole family is now returning to experience the culture. Both of our vacations are (hopefully) going to be very exciting.

The end is finally here; school is over in about two weeks and there won't be any more posts, so this is goodbye from Micah and Spencer till next fall....

The Big Blue Night

By Micah and Spencer

This year's Spring Band and Chorus Concert was in many peoples' opinion, the best or one of the best Garrison school concerts. The Middle School Jazz Band was joined by professional musicians Raul Wessely, Al Hemberger and Tommy McDonnell, of the Blues Brothers Band. It was a great night and a great performance.

Today, June 2, is the reward for the middle school performers, the reason many people signed up in the first place for band or chorus: THE TRIP! Last year's trip was to the musical "Mama Mia." This year, all of the students in middle school who participated in band or chorus are going to see the Blue Man Group. The two of us get to go on the trip because we played trumpet in both band and jazz band.

Everyone that is going is PUMPED! We will see the show at the Astor Place Theatre in New York City. People are even more excited because we are sitting in poncho seats, where you get all different colors of paint thrown all over you. Many expect it to be a fun performance (and a fun bus ride). Also, there is no homework for the middle school because we leave at 4:00 p.m. and get back around midnight. Everyone is looking forward to it. It's going to be a great night!

A New Member!!!

By Spencer

Hello, all you Cougar Times fans! Say hello to our new member, Micah! He will be helping me with the blog from now on. So be prepared for double the action twice a week with back-to-back posts. If you recall, we featured him in two stories here at the blog: the story about In Motion because he's a singer in that band and on top of that he was the mastermind behind the homework petition. So, just like Mrs. Rowe asked me, I'm going to do a little Q&A with Micah right now:

S: So what do you hope to do with the blog?

M: I hope to carry it out and make it better!

S: So Micah, if you had to pick one favorite moment from 2010 so far what would it be?

M: In Motion's Performance at the Middle School Dance. I had a blast.

S: What is your favorite food?

M: Tasty food!

S: So good luck, Micah! I look forward to working with you.

M: Thanks, Spencer, same to you!

Editorial: NO MORE TESTS!

By Micah

Finally, the onslaught is over. After over a month of preparation, all of the state tests finished today, May 12, 2010. The state tests this year, like any other year, were brutal because of too much homework on top of test preparation. Over a month, there is a time of overflowing homework and conflicting schedules. The problem with this was that both tests were just one week apart from each other, three weeks in a row.

First came the ELA or English Language Arts tests, then came the math tests, and a week later were the field tests, a combination of both. All of the state tests, in my opinion, have a larger bark than bite. Their reputations are terrible, but the actual tests are not that bad. I think most students would be fine with just two weeks of preparation. Let me clarify one thing for all of the readers: THE TESTS ARE NOT THAT HARD.

Even so, the time of year during the tests is always a time of increased teacher observations. Even though the tests are not that hard, it's great just to have them out of the way, just because it brings all of us students that much closer to the end of the year.

In Motion

By Spencer
On Friday April 23, the band In Motion played the Garrison Middle School dance. The band played four songs: ''Twist and Shout'' by the Beatles, "Can't Stand Losing You" by the Police, "Thank You (For Letting Me Be Mice Elf)" by Sly and the Family Stone and "If I Had Eyes" by Jack Johnson. In Motion is made up of four eighth graders and one seventh grader. Tim S. plays bass, Tim H. plays drums, Richard plays guitar, Jackson plays saxophone and piano, Colin is on lead vocals and Micah, the seventh grader, also sings. Overall, I thought the band's performance was fantastic. The way the band played I felt like I was at a real concert. They sounded really good and were very in tune with each other, which is crucial for a good performance. The band members are also very musically talented individually and play many instruments. Colin especially sounded like a real singer for a band because he had an all around good voice. I would definitely see the band again and, for all you music listeners, I would look out for the band in the near future.

Spring Break

By Spencer


As you all know, Spring Break is right around the corner. Here are a few places where people are going:

Drew from 6th grade is going to Lake Placid.

Wil from 6th grade is going to Florida.

Cooper from 7th grade is not going anywhere.

Emily from 7th grade is going to Florida.

Isabella from 7th grade is going to California.

Garret from 7th grade is going whitewater rafting.

Jackson from 8th grade is not going anywhere.

Ramsey from 7th grade is going to Florida.

Peter from 7th grade is not going anywhere.

And I'm going to South Carolina!

iPad Out Next Month

By Spencer
















Over the last few weeks there has been a lot of buzz floating around about the new Apple iPad multimedia tablet. The iPad is basically a bigger version of the iPod Touch but with more advanced features. You can choose from more than 150,000 apps in the App Store that will run on the iPad, including entertainment apps, productivity apps, social networking apps, games and more. The iPad also has a lot of new features on it, including new apps designed specifically for the device. The newest feature is the new Apple Book Store, which is where you can buy and download books.

The iPad starts at $499 but goes up in price depending on the speed and memory. Here are the prices:
16GB: $499
32GB: $599
64GB: $799
16GB with 3G: $629
32GB with 3G: $729
64GB with 3G: $829

It looks like the iPad was designed for college kids because you can download books, music and apps all in one place. The iPad is good to buy if you are someone on the go who wants something more portable than a laptop. I would buy it because it has so many new apps and the bigger screen will be more fun. The iPad is expected to be available in early April.

Doug Banker: A Local Hero

By Spencer



On Wednesday, January 27, 2010, I had the privilege of meeting with a man named Doug Banker at his Garrison home overlooking the Hudson River. At around 10 a.m., I pulled up at his driveway and he greeted me with a warm smile. I introduced myself and then we got down to talking about the night of November 23, 2009.

That night, Mr. Banker, his daughter Jeannie and her husband John were getting off at the Garrison train station from the city at around 9:33 p.m. As they were crossing the overpass that leads to the river side of the train tracks, they heard a faint "help" in the distance. Walking toward the sound, they eventually found a drowning man off the Garrison Yacht Club pier. The man was wearing a heavy leather jacket and was flailing his arms. Doug and his son-in-law tried to help the man by giving him a tree branch to grab on to, but he was too delirious to understand what to do. While this was going on, Jeannie called 911.

During the 20 to 25 minutes before the Garrison Volunteer Fire Company arrived, Mr. Banker was lying face down on the dock holding the man's hand. He and John delivered words of reassurance to the man. When the fire department got there, they used a ladder to fish the man out. In the end, after being treated by the Garrison Volunteer Ambulance Corps, the man was eventually sent to Hudson Vally Hospital Center. After the whole ordeal was over, Doug found a cross and a pair of gloves on the dock.

Mr. Banker ended up with a couple of badly bruised ribs from holding the heavy man for so long. I was struck by how humble Mr. Banker was when he recalled the evening. He said it all seemed to happen so quickly. It's pretty amazing that he not only heard the sound of the man's cry but also actually took the extra step to check it out.

On Thursday, February 4, 2010, the Garrison Volunteer Fire Company presented Mr. Banker with a Lifesaver award for his actions that night.